Sandra Larriva, Patch Staff

<b>The Basics</b>

<b>Hometown</b>: Mexico City and Larchmont

<b>Email</b>: Sandra&#64;Patch.com

<b>Phone</b>: (914) 299-1810

<b>Birthday</b>: September 15

<b>Bio</b>: I moved to Larchmont when I was 15 and graduated from Mamaroneck High School in 1999. Later on I received a bachelor&#39;s degree in Art History and Italian from SUNY Binghamton and a master&#39;s degree in journalism from Columbia University. I am now married to my job and I love it. I&#39;ve worked at ForbesTraveler.com, MSNBC.com, and a few local weeklies, all in New York. Right before joining Patch I was living in Buenos Aires, producing video for the Argentine newspaper Clarin, taking daily doses of dulce de leche, and attempting to fulfill my childhood dream, to swim with whales. Both of my parents are half-Lebanese, which partly explains my fascination with the Middle East. My &#34;adulthood&#34; dream (one that doesn&#39;t involve diving in freezing temperatures) is to one day become an arts and culture correspondent in the Middle East.

Watch my welcome video here.

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<br><b>Politics</b><br><br>    * <i>How would you describe your political beliefs?</i> Left-leaning<br><br>    * <i>Are you registered with a certain party?</i> No<br><br><b>Religion</b><br><br>    * <i>Do you consider yourself religious</i>? I was raised Catholic, but do not practice in the strict sense of the word.<br><br>    * <i>If so, how religious would you say you are? Casual, observant, devout, non-religious?</i> Does &#34;spiritual&#34; count?<br><br>    * <i>Do you identify with a certain religion? If so, which one?</i> I have read a lot about Buddhism and try to apply its philosophy to my daily life<br><br><br><b>Local Hot Button Issues</b><br><br>    * <i>What do you think are the most important issues facing the community? </i>Taxes, property reassessment, the school budget and the environment<br><br>    * Where do you stand on each of these issues? I am focusing on fully understanding them. Once I form an opinion, I might let you know.